In 1936, American 16-year old Ruth Aarons won the Singles gold medal at the World Table Tennis Championships in Prague. She repeated the achievement in 1937 in Baden. Aarons is the only American, woman or man, to win a World table tennis Singles title.
Those same years, she led the U.S. women's team to Corbillion Cup (World Championship) victories. In 1936, (with partner Jimmy McClure) Aarons also won the 1936 World Mixed Doubles championship.
Following her '36 success, Time Magazine referred to the teenage American blond as "the Ginger Rogers of table tennis".
After her gold medal achievements, Aarons paired with Hungarian men's world champion Sandor Glancz to become a popular table tennis entertainment attraction. In 1966, she was inducted in the USATT Hall of Fame.
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